David Pereplyotchik

Amazing book

Revisado: 11-28-24

There are many books out there attempting to synthesize all of our current theories in the hard sciences,. This book is one of the best of that bunch, if not the best. I have always found the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics to be too weird to take seriously. This book changed my mind about that. A truly stunning feet.

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Great read

Revisado: 07-01-23

Some very memorable stories here. I read this in an attempt to get inside the mind of someone I know, who works in a hospital. Not only did it help with that, but it had a few pretty nice illustrations of how to reframe trauma, so as to be able to move forward.

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Eye-opening

Revisado: 09-23-21

Many common assumptions debunked—about Africa, about capitalism, and about history more generally. A must-read for any serious student of history, economics, or politics.

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So much fun!

Revisado: 02-12-21

Imaginative play with size/dimension and Enlightenment-era philosophy. Very clever. Has one weirdly unnecessary and sexist line, and is mired in old-school physics/philosophy, but otherwise dates pretty well. Kinda like Flatland, which is also terrific.

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So good! Highly recommended.

Revisado: 08-27-20

I’ve read a lot by Kropotkin, and by many people who were influenced by Kropotkin, and this book is a great example of why he is still so important in our times. This is really one of the best things out there. He says so many things that are now being rediscovered by contemporary philosophers (e.g., Joshua Greene, Moral Tribes). It doesn’t really deal with his brand of anarchism (or, more specifically, anarchocommunism), but it provides the intellectual/scientific underpinnings for it. It also gives a nice snapshot of intellectual life in that period of European history. Bonus points to Kropotkin for mentioning the absurdity of the religious justification for Black slavery in America—a topic thoroughly explored more recently by Ibram Kendi in Stamped From the Beginning. The narration is also great, as it always is with Kenny.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Tough going at times, but WELL worth it

Revisado: 11-19-19

This is Graeber's best book. His other work is all informed by the fundamental ideas that are presented, developed, and defended here. If you disagree with the analysis of history that he presents in this book, as several reviewers obviously do, then you are very unlikely to agree with the themes of his other books. But the reverse is true as well. If you like what you read here, you'll also love Bullshit Jobs (to take just one example). Some people think that anthropologists have no business trafficking in this domain. That is just one of the many myths that Graeber explodes in this truly impressive and perspective-shifting book. It's long and it's academic, but I recommend it to anyone who wants to get some historical and philosophical insight into the origins of modern economies and the utter contingency of the political system in which we currently live.

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Fantastic book by an excellent author

Revisado: 11-19-19

I have read and reread this book, and recommended it to so many people. It’s definitely in my top five of books from the past decade.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Not his most serious book, but still really great

Revisado: 11-19-19

Graeber is best known for his academic tome, Debt, and perhaps second-best for his more popular book, Bullshit Jobs. If you're into either of those books, you should read this book as a kind of follow-up. If you haven't read Debt or BSJ, I'd recommend starting with them first. Graeber applies the lessons of those books here, with some fascinating and insightful detours into pop culture (e.g., the capitalist symbols inherent in action movie heroes).

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Must-read for philosophers of science

Revisado: 11-19-19

Philosophers have long debated the notion of causation, and the metaphysical status of causal/nomological modality. This book is a must-read for philosophers of science who want to see some cutting-edge tools for solving some age-old conundra.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Informative, Dense, Well-Researched, Well-Read

Revisado: 11-19-19

Other reviews say the reader is annoying. I don't see it. Might be a xenophobic bias toward other accents; might just be a matter of taste. But the content, it seems to me, is emphatically *not* a matter of taste. It's just straight-up true. The neo-liberal and neo-conservative movements have led to our current political situation, with frightening consequences for the environment and people -- esp. in the global south, for reasons the author details. (The consequences may well also doom neo-liberal/neo-conservative policies, depending on how 2020 turns out.) One reviewer noted that the info on China is outdated. Fair point. Another noted that it's not objective, but provided no examples of this. It's true that the book is written from a leftist perspective, but it's not fair to use that as a criticism, rather than a challenge to debate the facts/evidence presented.

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